I think it's time we admit that a five day work week is counterproductive.
Even Google notices this but is probably too big to make that change to a shorter work week; the best they can do is "reset days." Smaller companies seem to be doing fine with a shorter week.[1]
[1] Buffer comes to mind first, other examples on 4dayweek.io
"Under the plans, an estimated 200 to 400 Spanish companies will voluntarily take part in the project by reducing their employees’ working week to 32 hours while keeping their salaries the same. The government will compensate participating businesses for any higher costs incurred by the changes, such as the need to hire additional staff or to reorganize scheduling and shift patterns. That investment will be financed through Spain’s share of the EU Coronavirus Recovery Fund."
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/spain-four-day-work-week-n...
(check out the graph "Annual working hours per worker" and see which country has the fewest working hours annually; you might be surprised)
And Microsoft Japan:
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/04/776163853/microsoft-japan-say...
This is strange. They're paying companies to hire extra workers so everyone can work fewer hours? Sounds more like a jobs program than anything.
I haven't seen any studies but I'd not be surprised if this translates into an increase in total employment.
Another benefit I perceive is that by assuming that people will be absent, companies have higher bus factors by default and the increased resilience that goes with it. And of course, the reduced efficiency that comes hand in hand. I've lived through enough crises to favour resilience.
One of the important currencies in our industry is trust, and people only trust That Guy grudgingly. Sharing info is often reciprocated, and you have a clearer picture of the whole project. Something very necessary if you ever hope to be in leadership.
I don't agree with you. My read on why they keep doing reset days is that "down" time doesn't really exist anymore. When in the office at Google, there are lots of "fun" things that can eat up time. Be it team off-sites (this is a big one for me), office events, fun classes, etc... we don't have those. To me, reset days are making up for people working more due to being at home with fewer outlets to take up their time.
I also get the feeling that people are taking way less vacation. Vacation is important to most people's sanity at a company, so reset days help with that as well.
I plan to add a feature where you can advertise yourself on this website that you are looking for part-time jobs. How many hours are you willing to work. What skills do you have. You will be able to login using GitHub account.
Part-time jobs are getting more popular. Anecdotal case: https://twitter.com/zachcodes/status/1390033250148655111
If we make it a 4 day work week, once it becomes the norm whats to say that people wont want a 3 day work week?
I may be biased though as I run https://4dayweek.io/ - Software Jobs with a better work life / balance.
I wrote about the advantages of a 4 day week (for employers) here: